Two-time Olympic champion Jade Jones won gold for Great Britain in taekwondo at the 2012 and 2016 Games but she has now swapped the mat in favour of another sport
Double Olympic champion Jade Jones has swapped the world of taekwondo for boxing. The 32-year-old, who clinched Olympic gold for Team GB in both 2012 and 2016, is determined to reach the summit of her sport once again, this time in the ring.
The Welsh star’s dream of a third Olympic gold came crashing down with an early exit at the Paris 2024 Games. Less than 12 months later, she shared the news of her career change and has made it clear she wants to go to the very top.
“It’s nice to have a fresh start,” Jones explained to The Smith Brothers. “It’s a new challenge. I wouldn’t be here to just get knocked out and get a bit of money.
“I want to take it step by step, one fight at a time, to kind of enjoy the journey again,” she added, hinting that the enjoyment wasn’t always there towards the end of her taekwondo career. “[I’m] definitely aiming to be world champion.
“I believe in myself, I believe in my ability and I’ll just take each fight at a time and see.” She continued: “I do just generally love a scrap as well.
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“I think that’s what people don’t get. They’re like, ‘Do you not want to keep your face?’ But I love to fight, I love to scrap, it’s fun to me.”
During her illustrious taekwondo career, Jones won gold by defeating Hou Yuzhuo in the 57kg division at the 2012 London Olympics and successfully defended her crown against Eva Calvo four years later in Rio de Janeiro. She also secured gold at the 2019 World Championships in Manchester.
She was backed up on the YouTube show by Stephen Smith, with whom she began boxing training at the start of 2025. Her latest comments follow her BBC Breakfast interview last year, where she admitted to experiencing moments of uncertainty since swapping disciplines.
She said: “It is nerve-wracking. Some days I wake up and think, ‘Am I absolutely crazy?’ I am loving it. I love taekwondo, it will always be my first love. But this is an exciting challenge.
“I don’t know what gave me the idea, I was sat in my kitchen and thought, ‘I’ll try boxing.’ My family all think I’m crazy but people who know me know it is inside me, I love to have a fight and a scrap.
“People can follow my journey, the good, the bad and the ugly. Can I get to the top? Will I fail? The dream is to be a world champion. To be a world champion in two sports would be pretty cool.”
